The Fed Makes Dividends Cool Again

The stock market fell in May and June after multiple hints and possible misinterpretations that the Federal Reserve was going to reduce (taper) its bond-buying program soon. However, any doubts that the Fed, not the economy, is the driver of stock direction were shattered after the bell July 10 when Chairman Bernanke reiterated that it was not going to raise interest rates in the near-term.

Stocks soared after his speech and the result on the charts was confirmation of an upside technical breakout. But behind the...